. Botany for agricultural students . Botany. 20 FLOWERS A study of Figure 16 shows that the base of the pistil is sur- rounded by bracts, corresponding to those surrounding the stamens in the staminate flowers. The bracts of the pistillate flowers are small, membranous, and form the chaff of the cob. Oat Flower. — A head of Oats, as shown in Figure 17, is much branched and the spike- lets occur at the ends of the branches. Each spikelet con- sists of two or more flowers, which are well enclosed by the two glumes. When the glumes are spread apart as shown in Figure 18, it is seen that the flowe
. Botany for agricultural students . Botany. 20 FLOWERS A study of Figure 16 shows that the base of the pistil is sur- rounded by bracts, corresponding to those surrounding the stamens in the staminate flowers. The bracts of the pistillate flowers are small, membranous, and form the chaff of the cob. Oat Flower. — A head of Oats, as shown in Figure 17, is much branched and the spike- lets occur at the ends of the branches. Each spikelet con- sists of two or more flowers, which are well enclosed by the two glumes. When the glumes are spread apart as shown in Figure 18, it is seen that the flowers are attached, one above another, to a small slender axis. This axis is known as the ra- chilla. Rachilla means small ; Rachis is the name applied to the main axis of the Oat head from which the branches arise. The small branches bearing the spike- lets at their ends are called pedicels. Thus branches arise Head or panicle of the from the rachis and end in the rachilla to which the flowers of the spikelets are attached. The spikelet shown in Figure 18 contains three flowers, but the upper one is rudimentary and, therefore, produces no grain. There is one very important difference between the flowers of Oats and those of Corn. In Corn the pistils and stamens occur in different flowers, but in Oats the stamens and pistils occur to- gether in the same flower. The Oat flower is, therefore, a perfect or bisexual flower. In each Oat flower there is one pistil and three stamens enclosed by the lemma and palea. The lodicules, which are two small scale-like bracts at the base of the pistil and stamens, are not easily seen in the Oat flower. The two glumes of the Oat spikelet are so large that when closed together they. Fig. 17 Oat plant, s, spikelets; h, branches; T, rachis; p, pedicels. About one-half natural Please note that these images are extracted from scanned page images that may have been digitally enhanced for readability - coloration and appearance of th
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